Gonzaga University
21-5, 9-1WCC
San Francisco
6-19, 2-9WCC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAN FRANCISCO DONS | 17 | 18 | 35 |
| GONZAGA BULLDOGS | 34 | 37 | 71 |
Women's Basketball Easily Defeats San Francisco
2/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2009
SPOKANE, Wash. - Three players scored in double-figures to lead the Gonzaga University women's basketball squad to a 71-35 victory over the University of San Francisco in front of 2,709 fans at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Sophomore classmates Courtney Vandersloot and Janelle Bekkering both scored 18 points in the Bulldogs win while junior Heather Bowman chipped in 10.
Gonzaga improved to 21-5 overall, 9-1 in West Coast Conference action. San Francisco dropped to 6-19 on the season and 2-9 in conference.
The Bulldogs easily opened up a 27-12 lead early in the contest. With the Zags leading 15-9, the Don's Shay Rollins drained a three-pointer at the 9:50 mark to put the Zags advantage at just three. Gonzaga rattled off a 12-0 run though to break open a 15-point advantage with a little over four minutes left before halftime. Four players scored for GU during its outburst, including Bekkering who drained one of her four three-pointers in the opening half.
Bekkering had 13 of her 18 points at the break as the Zags were in command at 34-17.
San Francisco hit just six field goals before halftime (6-of-32), three of which were three-pointers. Gonzaga held a huge 30-15 advantage on the boards in the first half and had 10 assists to the Dons four.
Gonzaga continued to roll, using a 21-4 run to open the second half to put its lead at 57-21 with 12:10 remaining in the contest. Vandersloot and Bowman combined for 16 of the Zags 21 points during this time, while Bekkering had the five other points.
The Bulldogs largest lead of the contest was 38 secured twice, the final time coming when sophomore Claire Raap grabbed an offensive board and hit a jumper to put the score at 71-33 with less than three minutes to play in the game.
Vandersloot was two rebounds and two assists shy of finishing with a triple-double. Along with her 18 points, the point guard dished out a game-high eight assists and grabbed a team-high eight boards.
The Dons continued to struggle from the field and finished shooting just 21.9 percent (14-for-64) for the game and 14.3 percent (3-of-21) on three-pointers. San Francisco also went to the line just five times during the contest, hitting four.
The Bulldogs bench outscored the Dons 15-0. Gonzaga also held the huge 59-35 advantage on the boards, including 21-12 on the offensive end. It is the third time this season the Zags have grabbed 50 or more rebounds in a game.
Rollins was the high scorer for San Francisco, finishing with a game-high 20.
This is the second time this season Gonzaga has held an opponent under forty points. The Bulldogs defeated the University of Wyoming 67-38 on Dec. 22. The last time Gonzaga held a WCC opponent under forty points was 77 games ago. The Zags defeated Pepperdine University 58-35 on Jan. 7, 2007.
Gonzaga continues to hold a one-game lead over the University of Portland in the WCC standings. The Pilots defeated Saint Mary's College 74-62 this afternoon to improve their conference record to 8-2.
The Bulldogs hit the road for their final WCC road trip this week when it heads to Los Angeles for two contests. Gonzaga will face Loyola Marymount University on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. and then close out the weekend at Pepperdine on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m.
